MSC Part 2: Escape from Blizzard Mountain

The conference was over. I was sort of sad to be going home, having really enjoyed the company of so many of my friends, being submerged in my own culture for a little while. But while we were sleeping the winter storm hit! By morning things were so bad that our Security Officer decreed no one would be leaving the hotel and we'd be staying for another night.

And this is why I love our group: Was their complaining? sure. But within moments the PCVs started doing what they do best-planning programs. There was a Yoga class in the hallway, card games and board games, an impromptu art gallery where our own Alexis Cohen spoke about her process. In the movie theater (room 305) patrons watched Avatar and Sherlock Holmes in comfy stadium-style seating (bed, chair or floor?).

Imagine you walk into the Hilton in New York. The staff is outside building a snowman and in the lobby there are dozens and dozens of Balinese people walking around in their socks and pajamas. They are playing music in the halls, doing handstands in the dining room. Chattering and laughing hysterically all in a language you can't understand. I think this is why the only two Azeri guests used room service the entire time.

After a day in the hotel we were moved into the city to stay with Ex-pats (my guess? budget concerns) where there were ballet classes and pizza parties and everyone took advantage of the embassy worker's "bat phones" (free calls to America). For pictures, click here. Instead of Thursday, we got home on Tuesday, fully socialized and exhausted.

So I just wanted to say thanks to my fellow AZ6's. Only you could make an emergency/being trapped in a hotel so completely fun. I love our group, what more can I say?

Also many thanks to the Rogers for sending "Settlers of Catan" last winter. It was played non-stop throughout the crisis and enjoyed by many!

MSC Part 1: Lessons Learned

Two weeks ago we had what is called our Mid-Service Conference (though it was held past the mid-point). More than anything this is a time for volunteers from all over the country to get together and exchange experiences, successes and failures. It's the first time since we swore in that our entire group has been together.

One of the highlights of the conference was a man from Turkey who came to tell us about the impact Peace Corps Volunteers had on him as a child. He had two teachers who were PCVs and talked less about what they actually taught but more about how everything about them challenged his perspective-their hair, the way they walked, the way they interacted with the students. He pointed out the young women volunteers and how radical it is in a culture where women really don't leave the security of the home to see a young, unmarried woman working thousands of miles away from home confidently. He talked about how his view of what is possible changed; how he has raised his daughter to be independent and a world traveller.

I think that this was exactly what a lot of us needed to hear. In terms of "changing the world" few PCVs witness anything akin to change and progress. The modern Peace Corps in a lot of countries is not building wells or planting trees, they are teaching computer skills and English. Many of our English students will never be proficient enough to use it in their careers; some of the girls who are will be married to men who won't allow them to work or travel. There still won't be trash pick-up or reliable electricity. So in the end it really is about the relationships we are building more than anything we can see. We got to see and hear about the impact those two volunteers back in the seventies may never know they had (the former student never learned their first names). Needless to say after a year of hard work in a country that doesn't understand volunteerism ("your country sent you here to work for free? What did you do wrong!?") there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Ice Skating in Heels

It finally came, the first real snow of the winter. Everyone in town seems elated. For weeks students have been telling me that it wasn't really winter because it hadn't snowed (this time last year we'd already endured multiple snow storms). And along with the snow comes adventure and the chance for lots of anthropological study.

First of all, our pipes froze. Luckily we live not far from the bulaq, or spring. We need one bucket to make the toilet flush, the kettle for drinking water, and the jug for washing dishes. I feel like a pioneer girl!

Walking to school is is like walking across an ice rink that just finished hosting 30 second grade birthday parties. I remember last year shaking my head and thinking "They really must not have any lawsuits in this country." There are no salt trucks, no snowplows or shovels. Mathias' ten minute commute becomes thirty. My twenty-five minute commute becomes an hour. It's especially hard because even if the weather changes, the culturally acceptable footwear does not and we are forced to do this in dress shoes and heels. I'm only mildly afraid of hurting myself when I fall. My true fear of falling is because its very embarrassing. Especially because no one else is falling. REALLY. Over two days I fell twice, Mathias said he fell a couple of times, and out of all the people I saw all over town I only saw only ONE Azerbaijani fall down. I reason with myself-in America we have sidewalks that get shovelled, the roads get salted, and I'm from Georgia for goodness sakes! And everyone else in town has been doing this their entire life. I recently read an article about how its actually better to run barefoot, but that people who have been running in shoes forever can't go back. Is this an example of how we become slaves to our technology?

The great thing about the snow was how happy it made everybody. You could just feel it. People were smiling and watching kids sled down the street. Yes, the street, with cars and everything. Apparently I was the only person concerned as fifth grade boys tore down the ice slick (or road) in front of their school, speeding through intersections without a second thought. The sleds have square wooden seats on runners made of pipes. Because of this, they don't steer and in fact I saw more than one kid spinning as they went down. And of course, thoughtful as people here are about bums not getting cold, many of them are outfitted with pillows to sit on. I even saw a very fancy crocheted one! I thought to myself, since I didn't see any girls sledding at all, that maybe that's what the girls get to do. The boys ride, the girls make seat covers. This thought was a little presumptive though as I did see one girl the next day sledding on a side street with her family.

So I'm enjoying the snow as long as I don't break anything on the ice. Don't worry too much, my students have taken to holding my hand and walking me home!

Don't Judge Me 'Cause I'm Trashy

We burn our trash.

When I first got here, the burning of trash was one of the cultural things that bothered me the most. It’s so bad for the environment! It’s so bad for your lungs! I get a horrible headache whenever it’s trash burning day. And until now, I’ve been able to stay fairly judgmental about it through ignorance.

When we lived with a host family, trash wasn’t our responsibility and thus I didn’t have to think about it. Out of sight, out of mind, out of conscience.

In our first home by ourselves we were given two options: pay the trash men 1 manat per pickup (3 manat a month) or sneak across the neighborhood at night to dump the trash in the woods. We nobly chose the expensive route. I felt so environmentalist and smug. Yes, I Emma Jackson, Peace Corps Volunteer, was sacrificing 3 manat a month for my ethics.

A quick note about the trash pickup—There is no trash pickup schedule, no “every Tuesday at 10”. There are no trash bins to be left at the end of your driveway. The way it works is that at three random days and times during the month someone will knock on the door. There will be a big open truck parked on your street and two guys with shovels. You will run inside and collect all the trash you have and hand it to them along with your payment (always in cash). And if no one is at home you ask? Of course there is someone at home, that’s what women are for!

So when we moved here and our landlord told us to burn our trash, we declined and decided we would continue to pay the garbage men instead. We paid them. They never came back. We see them from time to time but they are as elusive as an even-handed comment on Fox News. And so after letting the bags in our kitchen build and build, we have no other option than to dispose of our trash ourselves. And that means burning it or dumping it on someone else’s yard to be torn apart by wild dogs in the night. When we finish burning it, we must then bury it. Otherwise Baby Cat comes inside with her face all black and looking like an extra in Braveheart.

And so I’m a lot less smug these days. And a lot less judgmental of people who really have no viable options. If any of you environmentalist inventors or engineers can come up with a solution, please let me know. Until then:

Recycle all the plastic you can find. Don’t do it for yourself. Do it so that when the fumes of our burning trash reach God’s nose, he’ll balance it out with your recycling indulgences on our behalf and we won’t have to live in the oil baron section when we go to heaven.

A Loss for Words

Why don't I write more often? It's not that I don't write; it's that I don't post. I write blog articles all the time that lay mouldering behind the scenes. The reason for this is that I'm not so confident in my English skills anymore. In part this is because I read a lot of really great blogs by my very eloquent friends and it's intimidating knowing that while I post the equivalent of finger puppets they are posting Nixon in China. And part of it is because I speak and listen to a lot of "Azeri English". My friends call to see if we can hang out and I say tomorrow at 10 will work and they respond "Ok, I wait you." Blame especially falls on my advanced English students and all their questions. Example:
I'm walking down the street with one of my lovely lovely 23 year old students, practicing our English. She says to me:
"How was your going?"
I'm a bit confused.
"Sorry," I say, "Can you repeat that?"
Student: "How was your going? Dünən Necə geldin?"
Me: "Oh, yes, now I understand what your are saying, but that's not how you say it in English."
Student: "How do you say it in English?"
Me: "Ummm....aaahhhh...." Thinking, thinking... "I'm not really sure! Maybe, "how was going home?" no, that doesn't sound quite right..."How was your road?".. noooo. Ah! I got it! "How was your way home?"
Student: "I'm confused."
Me: "Me too."

So bear with me dear reader, a post will come. Just know that right now while you are reading this, I'm sitting at my computer thinking to myself "Is 'I went for often' a sentence?"
Until I do figure that out, I would also encourage you to visit my good friend and fellow AZ6 Julia's very excellent blog for a better picture of what life as a volunteer here is like.

Hippy Skills: Canning

One of the things I was hoping to accomplish while living in Azerbaijan was learning how to can. I prepared over a year ago in America by taking the fabulous Preserving Food at Home Self Study out of the University of Georgia. The only thing that really threw me was that all American information, or all canning information on the web for that matter, assumes you are using ball jars with their fabulous sticky tops and screw lids. People here don't use ball jars, they use these:Notice the implement in the back with the round part and the handle. With these jars, the lids don't actually stick or pop during the boiling process, they are crimped on afterward by hand. After many panicky questions to neighbors and our medical officers I figured if no one else was freaked out, neither would I be (This works for the lack of a lot of things: Lysol, baby gates, toilet paper...). I'm happy to say we've had no ill effects.

So far I've canned 8 quarts of tomato sauce, 4 quarts peaches, 2 jars of Quince preserves, and 4 jars of applesauce.

Canning makes a lot of sense when you can only buy produce in season and its great if you are Scottish. Why Scottish? Example: my peaches cost roughly 1.75 manat to produce while the same amount canned at the store cost 4 manat. Right now apples are 1 Manat for 3 Kilos (roughly $1.20 for 6 pounds!) and won't be easy to find in the summer. Yes, I can feel the approval of the Campbells now!

And its not as hard as you think. Take applesauce:
First peel and core and slice. Put peelings in your compost bin to become worm and plant food and put apple bits in a pan with a quarter to a half inch of water.

Cook apples, stirring and mushing with your spoon until it looks like applesauce.

Then put the applesauce and process in a water bath canner. Mine will look different than yours because I'm using these weird Azeri/Russian Jars. If you've got ball jars, you're done! If you are using what we've got you use your handy crimper thing, spinning the handle around and around the lid, tightening it every round. Check to see that it sealed and you're done!

Not gonna lie, I feel much more satisfied at the end of this than I ever was at the end of "CSI: Miami" (But that might be David Caruso's fault).

Azeri Women Speak

Here we go! These are the answers to the original questions plus some answers to questions individuals posed. The questions were answered by girls from Shamakhy and Kurdamir and are their own opinions. Brackets are added by me for the sake of clarity. I have had such a great time talking about these issues, similarities and differences with the ladies. I hope that this is equally interesting and enlightening for you!!

What do Azeri Women Wear?
~Trousers, Jacket, jeans.
~I can tell that it depends. I prefer casual dress. I usually wear jeans, boots, sweater, t-shirt, and sneakers. But sometimes I can wear more luxury [read: lacey, ruffley, or sparkly].
~Azeri women wear dress, skirt, and pants
~I love classic clothes but sports clothes are much more comfortable.
~I wear skirts, dresses, and heels. Not everyday, only when I am at work. But daily I like to wear jeans, sweaters and sneakers.
~I like both stylish clothes: luxurious and daily clothes like jeans, sweaters. But I never wear baseball shoes, I prefer heels. I don’t like to wear charming jewelry. I always wear makeup, but not a lot.
~Azeri women don’t differ from women in the rest of the world in their clothing. They go along with modern fashion. They prefer casual sport-style clothes in their daily wear. Young women usually wear pants, skirts, different shirts, shoes, sneakers and in the winter coats, jackets, jeans, scarves and hats. Their evening or going to wedding clothes are more luxurious and sparkly. But our mothers’ dress (I mean the middle-aged generations) differ from our style. They wear long skirts and sweaters and shoes. They wear shawls or scarves on their heads. They never wear jeans or close-fitting dresses.

When do Azeri Women get married?
~25 years.
~I’m 23. I’m not married yet. But my sister was married when she was 20.
~Our women get married at 23 or 25.
~After entering or graduating from University.
~I would like to marry at 24-25-26.
~I am 22 years old. I am not yet married for several reasons. First, I am not in love, then I am not ready for marriage.
~I guess most of the girls in Azerbaijan get married by their parent’s offer and agreements. Some of them get married at ages of 18, 20, 22. When I studied at high school, there was a girl getting married at age of 14. But she was not happy that she got married forcefully at her young age. But currently I am not ready to get married. 'Cause I have a job and education. Maybe I will get married at age of 29. 'Cause after graduating from university I will go on travels.
~I can’t say correctly a time of marriage in Azerbaijan. They get married in different times. But for our laws, they must get married after 18 years old. We prefer our parents opinions when we get married. Some families make their daughters get married early. They make them get married after they graduate from Secondary School [Equivalent U.S. 11th Grade]. They don’t let the girls live independently. But some parents want their daughters to be educated and prepared for the future. I can say that now our girls prefer to study and to get something out of life.
~There isn’t any line for Azeri women in marriage. But it mustn’t be before eighteen years old. If they get married before eighteen years old, it is for a specific reason I think [read: pregnant].
~They [specific ethnic group] get married at 14 or 15 but everyone else when they are twenty or older.


How many children do they have?
~Eight children.
~We have three children in our family. I have a sister and a brother. But I’d like to have three daughters.
~I like two children.
~Two.
~[I want] Two girls, two 2 boys.
~We are four children in our family. But in the future I would like two…because it’s a lot of responsibility!
~It depends on them, some women have many children, some have only one or two children most of all. But I want only to have a baby girl.
~Before, in Azerbaijani families, there were seven or eight children. But now they want fewer children. At the moment they have maximum four children because they want to give their children all opportunities. We are six children in our family. I’d like to have twin daughters and a son.
~I think that every family wants the number of children that match their economic situation. They have at least children. Sometimes they have four or five children. I can say that the couples agree about how many children they will have.


Do Women Use Birth Control?
~Yeah, surely. Most Azeri families prefer sons, and if they have any daughters in the family, they don't want any more. So they have an abortion if the woman is pregnant or prevent pregnancy with pills or some medicine.
~Yes, they can get an abortion.
~Abortion.
~I can’t say correct answer about this cause I never meet with like this situation. I think so. If they have 2 or 3 children after getting married and they don’t want to have another child then they can be allowed to use birth control.

How do you live?
~I live with my family
~I live with my parents now. I guess most Azeri girls live with their families. But when I studied at the University I lived by myself and my friends.
~I live fine and I live in Shamakhy
~I live with my parents in Shamakhy
~I live with my family. In my free time I like to put on make up and straighten my hair (hair dryer). I pray, read the Koran.
~In our country the women live with their mothers and fathers till marriage. Now I am not married yet. Therefore I live with my family.
~Hey all the Americans! My name is Seva. I am from Azerbaijan. I am at age of 20, but in 2nd January I will be 21 years old. I’m a student of Economic University. Not only I’m studying but also I’m working in HR at a company. At 8 o’clock I usually leave home and come back at 7:30 in the evening. Although it is difficult for me, I always do my best. Now I am trying to learn English. I should improve my speaking language. I am very grateful to meet you by email. When Emma showed me these questions I was very curious about these. I liked your questions. In my spare times I usually read interesting books, listen to the music or go for a walk with my friends.
~We are doing different things in our free time. Each person has a hobby. Some women read books in their free time. Some knit, write poems, listen to music. Others go for a walk. I write poems in my free time and sometimes I ride a bicycle. But I am a student and so I am around books. I enjoy reading books.

What work do Azeri Women do?
~Teacher, doctor, actor.
~Most women in Azerbaijan prefer to be teachers or doctors. My mom, my sister, and I are teachers.
~Our women work as a teacher, doctor, or everyday housewife.
~In Azerbaijan most of the women are teachers and doctors although I graduated in American Studies.
~In Azerbaijan everybody has the opinion that all the girls must be a teacher or a doctor. But now, the women are allowed to work in different jobs. They work as policewomen, journalists, lawyers, actresses, deputies and other jobs. I wanted to be a lawyer but I am a teacher. But I think that it’s never too late and I’ll try for this.

If you lived in America, what work would you like to do?
~Teacher
~I have worked in HR before, now I’d like to work as the HR manager again wherever I live.
~If I live in America I am working as a Businesslady.
~I’d like to work in a bank in America.
~If I were in America, I would realize all my dreams. I’d like to be an editor-in-chief in the magazine sphere.
~If I lived in America I my dream job would be management.
~If I was in America I would change all the things in my life. I would like to be a journalist although I could be a journalist in Azerbaijan also. But I think there are more opportunities to be a journalist in America. I would want to be free in I lived there but I wouldn’t forget our mentality because I’m an Azeri girl. But I can’t answer this question exactly because I’m not in America. If I were to go to America then I would be able to tell my thoughts more clearly.
~If I were in America I’d live my life independently. I’d make my career. And I’d like to live more independently from my family. I’d be a policewoman there.

What is different about Azerbaijani women than women in other countries?
~Azeri women are very kind, patient. But they are not free as most European and American women. But I guess we have more independence than most Muslim countries. For example, our families don’t choose a bride for us like other Muslim countries. We can study, love, marry.
~Our women do not have freedom, because they are housewives.
~They are in make-up every time.
~I think the opportunities for women in Azerbaijan not so bad, not so good. But they are very patient women because it is not everybody treat to them good. This is one of the important (gender) problem in our country. The men and women’s rights are not equal.
~After reading your answers I guess the main differences between you and us, I see you have more freedom unlike us. I like your way of living. There is a difference that we should live with our parents until we get married. We are not free to make our own choices and opportunities. ~After getting married we have to obey them and take care of husband and children. In our country women can’t do things that men do. And there is some women doing like that is being met by others badly.
~Azeri women don’t differ from any of the world’s women but they don’t live independently after they are eighteen years old like in America. They live with their families until they get married. They try to be an ideal wife for their husbands. They are kind and frank. The family is a sacred duty for them.
~Azeri women differ for their beauty, charm and positive characteristics from others. Azerbaijani women differ for their outlook too.

What is your favorite place in Azerbaijan?
~Parks
~There is a lot of sightseeing to do in Azerbaijan. There are amazing views of my city. But I love Inn City (Ichery Sheher) in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. This is the oldest part of the city.
~Nabran, the Caspian Sea.
~I like Baku very much (The capital of Azerbaijan).
~My favorite place is to be with my family and meet my friends from the University.
~There are many sightseeing places in Azerbaijan. It regions are like a paradise. Some of them are Gabala, Ismailli, Guba, and others. In Baku there are the Maiden’s Tower, Shirvan Shah’s Palace (Before it was in Shamakhy but after the earthquake in the 12th century they moved it to Baku), Heydar Parks. In Baku there are historical places. Lahic, a village of Ismaille is a historical place.

Do Housewives like being provided for, or do they wish they could take a more active role in working to support the household?
~Most of the women like being provided by their husbands, there is a few women like taking a more active role in working to support the household. Maybe I’ll also be one of them in future. I like to do everything myself. I never like being provided by someone.
~There is an unwritten law that the man must work and the woman must take care of the house. But this is for housewives. Some women made their careers before they got married. But some women got married in their youth and get money from their husbands when they need. I think it is not good. Every person must think about herself, make her career and provide for her own future.

What kind of food do they cook?
~In general Azerbaijani women cook all kinds of food such as dolma, ash, dovğa, a pea soup with meat (a kind of eastern dish), chicken stuff and etc. But I have no free time to cook something in accordance with studying and working all the time
~I love my mom's meals, she cooks a lot of national meals. She usually cooks dolma, plov, chopped meat, dovga. Our people use meat a lot. Especially mutton and veal. But we love chicken and fish too.

I’m curious about where you get your food from-small markets or directly from farmers? I would guess that you have far less variety than we do but maybe yours is fresher. And do you have cookbooks or are recipes handed down verbally?
~My parents usually purchase some foods from the markets but not from farmers. Some people like getting their foods to be fresher only from the farmers. And everyone has cookbooks and recipes. While cooking the meal they usually use from the cookbooks or recipes. My younger aunt likes cooking the meals by cookbook or recipes. This is her favorite job.
~At home usually my mom cooks and she doesn't use any cookbooks for meals, I can tell that she is not the only one; all Azeri women cook from heart. But when we cook cakes, biscuits or make salads we use cookbooks or recipes.
~We have market in our town which brings food products from other towns and countries. My dad goes there once a week and buys what we need. We buy meat from butcher's and milk and eggs from farmers. Because they are fresh and healthy. But there is a big department store near our house and there are a lot of departments in it and there is food department too. We get sugar, tea, candies, cookies, chewing gum, etc. from there.

Which American movie star has the best clothes?
~I think Monica Belluci, Jenifer Lopez, Giovanna Antonelli etc.
~My favorite movie star is Hillary Duff and I like her clothing. She is cute.